Well let’s see here, it’s been a long time since I’ve had to introduce myself to someone. For starters I want you to know that I’m a hard worker, always have been. I do my very best at everything and I live by the quote, “you never know unless you try.” I’ve never had a “B,” on my report card in my entire life, and as my partner I’m positive you’ll love working with me.
Now let’s get to all the other stuff like my hobbies, accomplishments, interests, all that jazz. One thing you have to know about me is that unlike most people I love the winter, I love everything about it, the silence when you walk outside alone, the holidays and of course the snowboarding in Colorado. I like the summer and spring too of course but winters my favorite. Next is that I am a huge car guy, I love everything about car and I especially like working on cars. I also like all the other stuff everyone likes like hanging with friends and videogames all that stuff. As sports go I’m varsity in cross country and tennis, no big deal, and would be in swimming too but I took this year off to run over the winter. I play trumpet in Band, and Jazz One, but am still deciding whether to play in Marching Band next year.
Writing, until recently, has been the biggest pet peeve of mine. I had never been a good writer until I took Mrs. Moehlis’s English class sophomore year. Before her class I had my mother check and guide me through every piece of my writing, which wasn’t making me any better. I literally just could not write a decent essay. When I took Mrs. Moehlis class she worked one on one with me constantly throughout the year making me a better reader and writer which has turned me into the scholar I am today. Mrs. Moehlis and I are still friends and she was one of the teachers that recommended me for NHS, which I am currently leading a volunteer group in. Ok now for this semester, what I hope to accomplish as a writer is to be able to pull out a good essay in 40 min for the timed writing portion of the AP test at the end of the year. I hope this helped who ever will be my writing partner get to know more about what I like and my experience and journey as a writer.
Personal Reflection on Topic of Inquiry(posted January 27 -- Peer Response January 29)
What is the one event that has shaped me into the person I am today? Well that’s a hard one to think about, as many things have happened to me throughout my life that has inevitable defined me as who I am, that’s the way life works really. Yet the one event that popped into my head first when I heard the question was my brother, Ian.
I was four the day he was born, July 16th 1999, four days before my birthday. I remember the moment like if it was only yesterday, sitting with my grandpa in the waiting room and receiving the news that I was officially an older brother. Like any little four year old I was excited, really excited, I now had a brother and I was going to everything an older brother does, like teach him how to play sports, videogames, and ride bikes, all that jazz. Yet little did I know that within the next year or so my role as an older brother would change, and forever change my role in the family for the rest of my life.
When Ian was born he was diagnosed with Down syndrome, which meant somewhere along the lines an extra chromosome was added which gave him downs and luckily not a severe case. As a four year old I was too young and ignorant to notice Ian was a little different, and didn’t think twice about it for a couple years. Yet when Ian started growing up I did begin to notice something was up, it would take him longer to do simple things and he could compete when we were playing ball, stuff like that. I was getting worried so I asked my mother about it and that’s when I found he had downs and the basic causes and reactions of downs, and that I needed to step up my role as a brother. Over the next 10 years all the way up to right now sitting and writing this paper I would my keep stepping up my role in the family, helping him with everyday things, teaching him how to play sports and ride a bike, helping him with school and making sure he was always happy. In fact I’ve gotten so used to being with him when people ask me about Ian and if it’s sometimes hard to be his brother I just say, “No not really he’s just like any other younger brother as I am like any other older brother. It’s my job to be there for him. Ian is the keeps the family alive and running, he’s the life of the party and he’ll always have a spot in my heart reserved just for him, I love the little guy.” It’s pretty funny, over the years I’ve done quite a few community events for kids with disabilities like the buddy walk and Miracle League, but I just joined best buddies at Roosevelt and when my dad heard about it he asked me why I wanted to be in it, I said to be a best buddy, and he replied that I had already been a best buddy for 12 years, which I actually had.
I would say Ian has taught me quite a bit. For starters he taught me family responsibility, patience, and defiantly maturity, but above all he taught me that kids with disabilities need help to get through life, even in the mildest cases, and it’s our job to be there for them when they need us most. I hear about people with disabilities being mistreated, made fun of, such as the use of “retarded,” and sometimes even living in horrible conditions, but what makes me the most angered is that fact that families will get abortions based solely on the fact that their child has a disability. If it’s one thing my mother has taught throughout my life it’s that Ian was a blessing not a curse, and you know what, after 12 year of being with him, Ian has to be the best thing that’s ever come into my life, what a blessing he truly is. My question is why are people with disabilities mistreated and cast down upon by so many people and so many countries, why?
Rough Draft Definition (posted February 3 -- Peer Response February 5)
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot lately about people with mental disabilities, and lately I’ve been seeing a lot more of them out and about doing everyday things and working out. Yet when I see these people a also see something else, people around them laughing quietly, making jokes, or starring at them, all trying to not let the person notice, but I noticed and it pains me to see things like this happen. What pains me even more is that I see it happen more often than is morally acceptable.
Now I have a brother with down syndrome and I know firsthand what it’s like to live with a mentally handicapped individual and it kills me to see someone being laughed at or made fun of especially when it’s a person has a mental disability. It’s a classic example of discrimination, only this time against the mentally handicapped.
Yet first, what is discrimination in this case, is it just the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, esp. on the grounds of race, age, or sex. Well I don’t think it is, it’s more than discrimination. For thousands of years the mentally handicapped have been excluded from society, looked down upon by the church being considered as a living sin in the dark ages, and in most cases killed or left to fend for themselves. Only recently in the history of mankind have then been able to live and interact with society.
Still in some cases today they are looked down upon and unwanted, some cases being a family giving up a baby with a mental disability or any disability for that matter because they either don’t want to deal with it or they want a perfect son or daughter. Well you know what nobody’s perfect and if it’s one thing my mother has taught me throughout my life it’s that my brother was a blessing not a curse, and you know what, after twelve years of being with him, Ian has to be the best thing that’s ever come into my life, what a blessing he truly is. God gave those families a gift and they should choose to embrace it not shun it. Other cases that I hear about, rarely, but pains me the most is when I learn of a group or single person with a disability ending up homeless or living in horrible conditions because no one wanted to take care of them and they were left to fend for themselves. Usually these people cannot take care of themselves on their own; they need someone by their side to help them when they need it. It’s important we do not neglect the mental handicap but embrace them with open arms.
What I see more often than discrimination is what I see at everywhere I go, school, TV, even my friends. What I see is bullying. Not bullying as in aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including derogatory comments and bad names such as the use of “retarded,” and bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” in a sentence such as, “man, that’s retarded,” may not seem like bullying but it is a derogatory word that demeans the mentally handicapped. Or when I see a child with a disability picked last or totally excluded from the game because he can’t play as well as the other kids. They deserve to do what we do, maybe they can throw the ball as well or make a basket, but it would make their day to be able to play a game with their friends.
Thinking over the issue, I’ve decided that today it’s a mix between discrimination and bullying. Discrimination being, those who look down upon or consider the mentally handicapped a lower person then themselves. Then bullying being those I see laughing at them behind their backs thinking no one was watching, or excluding them. Now my brother goes to Merrill Middle School and is lucky enough to have a lot of friends. He gets the same chance to do what he wants just like every other kid there. Merrill is a great school environment, but out there as I’m writing there are kids with disabilities not nearly as lucky as him being bullied and discriminated against, who don’t have the same chances Ian does to be a normal kid. Those people are whom I’m writing this paper for, who need the madness to stop the most, those are the people we should embrace with open arms, those are the people who need our help.
Peer Response: I really like the structure of your essay. Your use of vocabulary is used really well and is easy to understand. You using your brother as an example in the essay makes it much more real and easier to relate with you and your story. The examples you use are really realistic and widens the view of the essay. I truthfully think you do not need to change much, maybe you could incorporate how your brother feels and his experiences of having down syndrome ? Just a thought but I think you have done a pretty good job !- Dejah Banks
Revision Definition (posted February 10 -- Peer Response February 12 )
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about those with mental disabilities, since I see a lot more of them out and about doing everyday activities. Unfortunately I also see something else, people around them laughing quietly, making jokes, and starring at them. All while trying not to let others notice. It pains me to see things like this happen, and what makes made it even worse is that I see it happen more often than is morally acceptable.
I have a brother with Down syndrome and I know firsthand what it’s like to live with a mentally handicapped individual. It kills me to see someone being laughed at or made fun of, especially when it is a person with a mental disability. To some it means nothing, but it is a classic example of discrimination, this time against the mentally handicapped.
Yet first, what is discrimination in this case? Is it the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, on the grounds of race, age, or sex? Not at all, it is far more than that. Throughout history the mentally handicapped have been subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. The movement was the study of human genetics and of methods to improve the inherited characteristics, physical and mental, of the human race. Only recently have the disabled been able to live and interact within society. Mainly as a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most now live independently, with their families, or in group homes. Yet they are still looked down upon and unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter are given up because they either don’t want to deal with it or they want a perfect son or daughter. Nobody’s perfect and if it is one thing my mother has taught me throughout my life it’s that my brother was a blessing. After twelve years of being with him, Ian has to be the best thing that’s ever come into my life. Those families were given a gift and should choose to embrace that gift not shun it. Other cases that I hear about, rarely, but pains me the most is when I learn of a group or single person with a disability ending up homeless or living in horrible conditions because no one wanted to take care of them and they were abandoned. Usually these people cannot take care of themselves on their own; they need someone by their side to help them when they need it. It is important to not neglect the mental handicap but embrace them with open arms.
There is another type of prejudice literally everywhere: school, TV, even friends. This type is bullying, not as in aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including derogatory comments and bad names such as the use of “retarded,” and bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” may not seem like bullying but it is a derogatory term that demeans the mentally handicapped. One more thing I see is when a child with a disability picked last or totally excluded from an activity or just ignored. They deserve the same life we are entitled to, maybe they can’t throw the ball as well another or make a basket, but it would make their day to be able to play with others. Say you don’t know them, that doesn’t entitle you to ignore that person; it is not much to ask to least acknowledge their existence.
Thinking over the issue, in today’s society it is a mix between discrimination and bullying towards the mentally challenged. Discrimination being, those who look down upon or consider the mentally handicapped a lower person then themselves. Then bullying being those I see laughing at them behind their backs thinking no one was watching, or excluding them. My brother goes to Merrill Middle School and is lucky enough to have a lot of friends. He gets the same chance to do what every other kid there does. Merrill has a great environment, but out in the world as I’m writing this paper there are kids with disabilities not nearly as lucky as him being bullied and discriminated against, who don’t have the same chances Ian does to be a normal kid. Those people are for whom I’m writing this paper, who need the prejudice to stop the most, those are the people who should be embraced with open arms, those are the people who need our help.
Final Definition (posted February 17 -- Peer Response February 19 )
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about those with mental disabilities, since I see a lot more of them out and about doing everyday activities. Unfortunately I also see something else, people around them laughing quietly, making jokes, and starring at them. All while trying not to let others notice. It pains me to see things like this happen, and what makes it worse, I see it happen more often than is morally acceptable.
I have a brother with Down syndrome and I know firsthand what it’s like to live with a mentally handicapped individual. It kills me to see someone being laughed at or made fun of, especially when it is a person with a mental disability. To some it means nothing, but it is a classic example of discrimination, this time against the mentally handicapped.
Yet first, what is discrimination in this case? Is it the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, on the grounds of race, age, or sex? Not at all, it is far more than that. Throughout history the mentally handicapped have been subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. The movement was the study of human genetics and of methods to improve the inherited physical and mental characteristics of the human race. Only recently have the disabled been able to live and interact within society normally. Mainly, as a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, with their families or in group homes. However, they are still looked down upon and often unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter are given up because parents either don’t want to deal with the challenges or they want a perfect son or daughter. Nobody’s perfect and if there is one thing my mother has taught me throughout my life, it is that my brother was a blessing. After twelve years of being with him, Ian is the best thing that has ever come into my life. Those families were given a gift and should choose to embrace that gift not shun it. Other cases that I hear about, rarely, are when I learn of a group or a single person with a disability ending up homeless or living in horrible conditions because no one wanted to take care of them. These people typically cannot take care of themselves on their own; they need someone by their side to help them when they need it. It is important to not neglect the mental handicapped, but embrace them with open arms.
Bullying is another type of prejudice found everywhere: school, TV, even friends. This is not always aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including, derogatory comments and bad names, such as the use of “retarded,” and bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” may not seem like bullying, but it is a derogatory term that demeans the mentally handicapped. One more thing I see is when a child with a disability is picked last or totally excluded from an activity or just simply ignored. Children with disabilities deserve the same life everyone else is entitled to and should not be outcast by other children. Society should treat everyone with respect, especially the least among them.
Thinking over the issue, in today’s society it is a mix between discrimination and bullying towards the mentally challenged. Discrimination being, those who look down upon or consider the mentally handicapped a lower person than themselves. Then bullying, being those I see laughing behind their backs thinking no one was watching, or simply excluding them. My brother goes to Merrill Middle School and is lucky to have a lot of friends. He gets the same chance to do what every other kid there does. He may do it a little slower, but he does it! Merrill has a great environment, but out in the world as I’m writing this paper, there are kids with disabilities not nearly as lucky as him. These kids don’t have the same chances Ian does to be a normal kid. Those people are for whom I’m writing this paper, those who need the prejudices to stop.
Reflection #1 (posted February 20 -- Peer Response February 22)
What was the purpose of the writing? How successfully did you meet this purpose?
The purpose of my paper was to show my reader how the mentally handicapped are discriminated against in our society and the together we must put a stop to it. I thought I did a good job of getting my message across to the reader. From personal experience and a few articles I was able to pour out my life story and true events to the reader so they would grasp the purpose and meaning behind my paper.
Who was your intended audience? How did you adapt your writing to appeal to this audience?
My intended audience was mostly high schoolers, but really to anyone who would happen to read it and change their thinking on the mentally handicapped or would want to do something about this big problem. As a high schooler myself I was better able to connect to kids my age as I described events kids in school experience almost every day. However I did go into writing about the bigger picture like giving away kids with disabilities or them living homeless, which would appeal more to a older audience.
Explain the exigence that influenced the selection of your topic.
Well my exigence came from my brother, who has down syndrome, and it just really bugged me to see people with disabilities, discriminated against, made fun of, bullied, or excluded. I’d also heard several stories, which almost made me cry, about people with disabilities homeless or living in horrible conditions on their own. These two big reasons are why I choose to write about discrimination against the mentally challenged.
How does your writing draw attention to the key aspects of your message?
One way is by giving the definition of bullying and discrimination, which are my reasons for writing the paper. I also provide many various examples of discrimination against the mentally handicapped. I thought my organization of the paper also helped to present my information to the reader. This would ultimately get my message across to the reader.
In what ways did you create tone to reflect your persona?
At first my tone was very conversational because the subject I choose was very personal and I cared a lot about it, but this was good and bad. It was good because it was as if I myself was directly talking with the reader as they read. But it was bad because it wasn’t the type of tone to use in this type of essay. My final draft still had a few aspects of conversational tone, which helped, but mostly my tone throughout the paper was informal and direct.
There are many different types of discrimination in today’s society, the two that concern me the most is the inequality of the mentally challenged and gays. With a brother with a mental disability and many family friends who are gay, I wish for both to be accepted in society normally without intolerance towards them. Yet while the two share many of the key characteristics of discrimination and are both big problems in society, they are, in some ways, very different from each other.
For some, the hardship of discrimination is witnessed at birth. The mentally handicapped serve as a prime example of this. They are often looked down upon and unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter are given up because parents either don’t want to deal with the challenges or they want a perfect son or daughter. In some cases they are even given up before birth. On the other hand gays are not born gay, though some may disagree. Gay people do not experience the hardship of discrimination until they are older and more open about their personality.
Throughout history both the gays and the mentally handicapped have been subjugated to unjust and prejudicial treatment by society. Unfortunately the mentally handicapped could not hide their disability from the world while gays could. The disabled would be subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. Many gays choose to hide their true feelings from the rest of the world, fearing if they spook out they would be shunned and out casted. Many of these gays would live their entire life the way society saw fit, not their way. I would not know what’s worse, living the way someone else saw fit, or being imprisoned in an institution.
Only recently have the mentally handicapped have both gays and the disabled been able to live and interact in society normally. As a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, with their families or in group homes. As for gays, it has only been in the past several years that society has begun to accept gays, though it seems as if the country is torn between the idea of gay marriage. Some states have made same sex marriage legal, but with much controversy it’s hard to say when the rest will follow. The mentally handicapped have been accepted by society, while the gays continue to fight for equality, and they both still face many hardships
Adding to discrimination both gays and the mentally constantly bullied, which adds to the idea of the least among society being out casted, but not just by adults but by kids. Bullying is a type of prejudice found everywhere: school, TV, even friends. It is not always aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including, derogatory comments and bad names, such as the use of “retarded,” towards the disabled, or “faggot,” towards gays, and also bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” or “faggot,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” may not seem like bullying, but it is a derogatory term that demeans the mentally handicapped and gays. Another thing I see in school is when a child with a disability is picked last or totally excluded from an activity or just simply ignored. I know that many gays are afraid to come out of the closet with their feelings fearing social outcast or bullying. Children with disabilities and gays deserve the same life everyone else is entitled to and should not be outcast by other children. Society should treat everyone with respect, especially the least among them.
Two types of discrimination, two types of people both unwanted and looked down upon by society, two very similar but very different people with one thing in common. They both fight for equality and the acceptance into society and a normal life. The mentally handicapped have reached this goal and the gays are fighting for it still today, but there will always be that group of people who laugh, hurt, and destroy the person who is lower than them, that group of people who think they’re better than everyone else.
Revision Comparison (posted March 2 -- Peer Response March 4)
There are many different types of discrimination in today’s society, the two that concern me the most is the inequality of the mentally challenged and gays. With a brother with a mental disability and many family friends who are gay, I wish for both to be accepted in society normally without intolerance towards them. Yet while the two share many of the key characteristics of discrimination and are both big problems in society, they are, in some ways, very different from each other.
For some, the hardship of discrimination is witnessed at birth. The mentally handicapped serve as a prime example of this. They are often looked down upon and unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter are given up because parents either don’t want to deal with the challenges or they want a perfect son or daughter. In some cases they are even given up before birth. On the other hand gays are not born gay, though some may disagree. Gay people do not experience the hardship of discrimination until they are older and more open about their personality.
Throughout history both the gays and the mentally handicapped have been subjugated to unjust and prejudicial treatment by society. Unfortunately the mentally handicapped could not hide their disability from the world while gays could. The disabled would be subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. Many gays choose to hide their true feelings from the rest of the world, fearing if they spook out they would be shunned and out casted. Many of these gays would live their entire life the way society saw fit, not their way. I would not know what’s worse, living the way someone else saw fit, or being imprisoned in an institution.
Only recently have the mentally handicapped have both gays and the disabled been able to live and interact in society normally. As a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, with their families or in group homes. As for gays, it has only been in the past several years that society has begun to accept gays, though it seems as if the country is torn between the idea of gay marriage. Some states have made same sex marriage legal, but with much controversy it’s hard to say when the rest will follow. The mentally handicapped have been accepted by society, while the gays continue to fight for equality, and they both still face many hardships
Adding to discrimination both gays and the mentally constantly bullied, which adds to the idea of the least among society being out casted, but not just by adults but by kids. Bullying is a type of prejudice found everywhere: school, TV, even friends. It is not always aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including, derogatory comments and bad names, such as the use of “retarded,” towards the disabled, or “faggot,” towards gays, and also bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” or “faggot,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” may not seem like bullying, but it is a derogatory term that demeans the mentally handicapped and gays. Another thing I see in school is when a child with a disability is picked last or totally excluded from an activity or just simply ignored. I know that many gays are afraid to come out of the closet with their feelings fearing social outcast or bullying. Children with disabilities and gays deserve the same life everyone else is entitled to and should not be outcast by other children. Society should treat everyone with respect, especially the least among them.
Two types of discrimination, two types of people both unwanted and looked down upon by society, two very similar but very different people with one thing in common. They both fight for equality and the acceptance into society and a normal life. The mentally handicapped have reached this goal and the gays are fighting for it still today, but there will always be that group of people who laugh, hurt, and destroy the person who is lower than them, that group of people who think they’re better than everyone else.
Final Comparison (posted March 9 -- Peer Response March 11)
There are many different types of discrimination in today’s society, but the two that concern me the most are the inequality of the mentally challenged and the gays. With a mentally disabled brother and family friends who are gay, I want the horrible intolerance to cease. Yet while the two share many of the key characteristics of discrimination and are both big problems in society, they are, in some ways, very different. Each having their own methods of stopping the intolerance.
For some, the hardship of discrimination is witnessed at birth. The mentally handicapped serve as a prime example of this. They are often looked down upon and unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter are given up because parents either don’t want to deal with the challenges or they want a perfect son or daughter. In some cases they are even given up before birth. On the other hand gays are not born gay, though some may disagree saying that the baby is gay from birth, rather than growing into it. Most gays do not experience the hardship of discrimination until they are older and more open about themselves.
Throughout history both the gays and the mentally handicapped have been subjugated to unjust and prejudicial treatment by society. Unfortunately the mentally handicapped could not hide their disability from the world while gays could. The disabled would be subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. Many gays choose to hide their true feelings from the rest of the world, fearing if they spook out they would be shunned and out casted. Many of these gays would live their entire life the way society saw fit, not their way. What’s worse, living the way someone else saw fit, or being imprisoned in an institution?
Only recently have the mentally handicapped been able to live and interact in society normally. As a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, with their families or in group homes. As for gays it has only been in the past several years that society has begun to accept gays and it seems the country is torn between the idea of gay marriage. Some states have made same sex marriage legal, but with much controversy it is hard to say when the rest will follow. The mentally handicapped have been accepted by society, while the gays continue to fight for equality, and they both still face many hardships.
Both gays and the mentally handicapped are constantly bullied, which adds to the idea of discrimination. Bullying is a type of prejudice found everywhere: school, TV, even friends. It is not always aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including, derogatory comments and bad names, such as the use of “retarded,” towards the disabled, or “faggot,” towards gays, and also bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” or “faggot,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” or “That guy is a fag,” may not seem like bullying, but it is a derogatory term that demeans the mentally handicapped and gays. Even using the word “gay,” in a sentence such as, “That’s gay,” is a derogatory term towards gays. Another thing I see in school is when a child with a disability is picked last or totally excluded from an activity or just simply ignored. I know that many gays are afraid to come out of the closet with their feelings fearing social outcast or bullying. Children with disabilities and gays deserve the same life everyone else is entitled to and should not be outcast by other children. Society should treat everyone with respect, especially the least among them.
Two types of discrimination, two types of people both unwanted and looked down upon by society, two very similar but very different people with one thing in common. They both fight for equality and the acceptance into society and a normal life. The mentally handicapped have reached this goal and the gays are fighting for it still today, but there will always be that group of people who laugh, hurt, and destroy the person who is lower than them, that group of people who think they’re better than everyone else. Reflection #2 (posted March 16 -- Peer Response March 25)
What was the purpose of the writing? How successfully did you meet this purpose?
The purpose of my paper was to show my reader how the mentally handicapped and gays are discriminated against in our society and the together we must put a stop to it. I thought I did a good job of getting my message across to the reader. From personal experience and a few articles I was able to pour out my life story and true events to the reader so they would grasp the purpose and meaning behind my paper.
Who was your intended audience? How did you adapt your writing to appeal to this audience?
My intended audience was mostly high schoolers, but really to anyone who would happen to read it and change their thinking on the mentally handicapped or would want to do something about this big problem. As a high schooler myself I was better able to connect to kids my age as I described events kids in school experience almost every day. However I did go into writing about the bigger picture like giving away kids with disabilities or them living homeless, which would appeal more to a older audience.
Explain the exigence that influenced the selection of your topic.
Well my exigence came from my brother, who has down syndrome and gay family friends, and it just really bugged me to see people with disabilities, discriminated against, made fun of, bullied, or excluded. I’d also heard several stories, which almost made me cry, about people with disabilities homeless or living in horrible conditions on their own. These two big reasons are why I choose to write about discrimination against the mentally challenged.
How does your writing draw attention to the key aspects of your message?
One way is by giving the definition of bullying and discrimination, which are my reasons for writing the paper. I also provide many various examples of discrimination against the mentally handicapped and gays. I thought my organization of the paper also helped to present my information to the reader. This would ultimately get my message across to the reader.
In what ways did you create tone to reflect your persona?
At first my tone was very conversational because the subject I choose was very personal and I cared a lot about it, but this was good and bad. It was good because it was as if I myself was directly talking with the reader as they read. But it was bad because it wasn’t the type of tone to use in this type of essay. My final draft still had a few aspects of conversational tone, which helped, but mostly my tone throughout the paper was informal and direct.
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about those with mental disabilities, since I see a lot more of them out and about doing everyday activities. Unfortunately I also see something else, people around them laughing quietly, making jokes, and starring at them. All while trying not to let others notice. It pains me to see things like this happen, and what makes it worse, I see it happen more often than is morally acceptable.
I have a brother with Down syndrome and I know firsthand what it’s like to live with a mentally handicapped individual. It kills me to see someone being laughed at or made fun of, especially when it is a person with a mental disability. To some it means nothing, but it is a classic example of discrimination, this time against the mentally handicapped.
Yet first, what is discrimination in this case? Is it the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, on the grounds of race, age, or sex? Not at all, it is far more than that. Throughout history the mentally handicapped have been subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. The movement was the study of human genetics and of methods to improve the inherited physical and mental characteristics of the human race. Only recently have the disabled been able to live and interact within society normally. Mainly, as a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s, which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, with their families or in group homes. However, they are still looked down upon and often unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter are given up because parents either don’t want to deal with the challenges or they want a perfect son or daughter. Nobody’s perfect and if there is one thing my mother has taught me throughout my life, it is that my brother was a blessing. After twelve years of being with him, Ian is the best thing that has ever come into my life. Those families were given a gift and should choose to embrace that gift, not shun it. Other cases that I hear about, rarely, are when I learn of a group or a single person with a disability ending up homeless or living in horrible conditions because no one wanted to take care of them. These people typically cannot take care of themselves on their own; they need someone by their side to help them when they need it. It is important to not neglect the mental handicapped, but embrace them with open arms.
Bullying is another type of prejudice found everywhere: school, TV, even friends. This is not always aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including, derogatory comments and bad names, such as the use of “retarded,” and bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” may not seem like bullying, but it is a derogatory term that demeans the mentally handicapped. One more thing I see is when a child with a disability is picked last or totally excluded from an activity and just simply ignored. Children with disabilities deserve the same life everyone else is entitled to and should not be outcast by other children. Society should treat everyone with respect, especially the least among them.
Thinking over the issue, in today’s society it is a mix between discrimination and bullying towards the mentally challenged. Discrimination being, those who look down upon or consider the mentally handicapped a lower person than themselves. Then bullying, being those I see laughing behind their backs, making fun of them, or excluding them. My brother goes to Merrill Middle School and is lucky to have a lot of friends. He gets the same chance to do what every other kid there does. He may do it a little slower, but he does it! Merrill has a great environment, but out in the world as I’m writing this paper, there are kids with disabilities not nearly as lucky as him. These kids don’t have the same chances Ian does to be a normal kid. Those people are for whom I’m writing this paper, those who need the prejudices to stop.
There are many different types of discrimination in today’s society, but the two that concern me the most are the inequality of the mentally challenged and the gays. With a mentally disabled brother and family friends who are gay, I want the horrible intolerance to cease. Yet while the two share many of the key characteristics of discrimination and are both big problems in society, they are very different; each having their own methods of dealing with and stopping the intolerance.
For some, the hardship of discrimination is witnessed at birth. The mentally handicapped serve as a prime example of this. They are often looked down upon and unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter, are given up because parents either don’t want to deal with the challenges or they want a perfect son or daughter. In some cases they are even given up before birth, where the family decides to have an abortion. On the other hand, gays are not born gay, though some disagree. While not proven, some believe that a gay person is oriented this way from birth, rather than growing into it. Most gays do not experience the hardship of discrimination until they are older and more open about themselves.
Throughout history both the gays and the mentally handicapped have been subjected to unjust and prejudicial treatment by society. Unfortunately the mentally handicapped could not hide their disability from the world, while gays could. The disabled would be subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. For gays, many choose to hide their true feelings from the rest of the world, fearing if they spoke out they would be shunned. Many of these gays would live their entire life the way society saw fit, not their way. What would be worse, living the way someone else saw fit, or being imprisoned in an institution?
Only recently have the mentally handicapped and gays been able to live and interact in society naturally. As a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s, which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people, the disabled were able to connect with society and live normal lives. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, either with their families or in group homes. As for gays, it has only been in the past several years that society has begun to accept gays and it seems as though the country is torn between the concept of gay marriage. Some states have made same sex marriage legal, but with much controversy it is hard to say when the rest will follow. The mentally handicapped have been accepted by society, while the gays continue to fight for equality, and both still face many hardships.
Gays and the mentally handicapped are often bullied, which adds to the idea of discrimination. Bullying is a type of prejudice found everywhere: school, TV, even among friends. It is not always aggressive behavior toward another. It can be bullying through social exclusion and isolation, or verbal bullying including, derogatory comments and bad names, such as the use of “retarded,” towards the disabled, or “faggot,” towards gays. Using the word “retarded,” or “faggot,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” or “That guy is a fag,” may not seem like bullying, but it is a derogatory term that demeans the person. Even using the word “gay,” in a sentence such as, “That’s gay,” is derogatory. Another thing I see in school is when a child with a disability is picked last or totally excluded from an activity and just simply ignored. I also know that many gays are afraid to come out of the closet with their feelings fearing social outcast or bullying. Children with disabilities and gays deserve the same life everyone else is entitled to and should not be outcast by other children. Society should treat everyone with respect, especially the least among them.
Two types of discrimination, two types of people, both unwanted and looked down upon by society. Two very similar but very different people with one thing in common, they both deserve equality and the acceptance into society. Yet there will always be that group of people who laugh, hurt, and destroy the person who they think is lower than them. The group of people who think they are better than everyone else. The source of the discrimination, the bullying, the intolerance, and the source must be stopped. Rough Draft Argument (posted April 6 -- Peer Response April 8)
The rights of the mentally handicapped are an increasingly growing problem in our society. Many believe the mentally challenged deserve the same rights and the normal life we are entitled to. Then there are some that don’t. Many also perceive the mentally handicapped as a person who can’t take care of themselves alone. Those who see a mentally challenged individual as a person that holds society back rather than a normal citizen. Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about those with mental disabilities, since I see a lot more of them out and about doing everyday activities. Unfortunately I also see something else, people around them laughing quietly, making jokes, and starring at them. All while trying not to let others notice. It pains me to see things like this happen, and what makes it worse, I see it happen more often than is morally acceptable.
I have a brother with Down syndrome and I know firsthand what it’s like to live with a mentally handicapped individual. It kills me to see someone being laughed at or made fun of, especially when it is a person with a mental disability. To some it means nothing, but it is a classic example of discrimination, this time against the mentally handicapped.
Yet first, what is discrimination in this case? Is it the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, on the grounds of race, age, or sex? Not at all, it is far more than that. Throughout history the mentally handicapped have been subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and of methods to improve the inherited physical and mental characteristics of the human race. Only recently have the disabled been able to live and interact within society normally. Mainly, as a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s, which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, with their families or in group homes. However, they are still looked down upon and often unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter are given up because parents either don’t want to deal with the challenges or they want a perfect son or daughter. Nobody’s perfect and if there is one thing my mother has taught me throughout my life, it is that my brother was a blessing. After twelve years of being with him, Ian is the best thing that has ever come into my life. Those families were given a gift and should choose to embrace that gift, not shun it. Other cases that I hear about, rarely, are when I learn of a group or a single person with a disability ending up homeless or living in horrible conditions because no one wanted to take care of them. These people typically cannot take care of themselves on their own; they need someone by their side to help them when they need it. It is important to not neglect the mental handicapped, but embrace them with open arms.
Bullying is another type of prejudice found everywhere: school, TV, even friends. This is not always aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including, derogatory comments and bad names, such as the use of “retarded,” and bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” may not seem like bullying, but it is a derogatory term that demeans the mentally handicapped. One more thing I see is when a child with a disability is picked last or totally excluded from an activity and just simply ignored. Children with disabilities deserve the same life everyone else is entitled to and should not be outcast by other children. Society should treat everyone with respect, especially the least among them.
Thinking over the issue, in today’s society it is a mix between discrimination and bullying towards the mentally challenged. Discrimination being, those who look down upon or consider the mentally handicapped a lower person than themselves. Then bullying, being those I see laughing behind their backs, making fun of them, or excluding them. My brother goes to Merrill Middle School and is lucky to have a lot of friends. He gets the same chance to do what every other kid there does. He may do it a little slower, but he does it! Merrill has a great environment, but out in the world as I’m writing this paper, there are kids with disabilities not nearly as lucky as him. These kids don’t have the same chances Ian does to be a normal kid.
Revision Argument (posted April 13 -- Peer Response April 15)
The rights of the mentally handicapped are an increasingly growing problem in our society. Many believe the mentally challenged deserve the same rights and the normal life we are entitled to. Then there are some that don’t. Many also perceive the mentally handicapped as a person who can’t take care of themselves alone. Those who see a mentally challenged individual as a person that holds society back rather than a normal citizen.
People with disabilities are the poorest, least employed, and least educated minority in America. At the end of 1995, it was estimated that one out of five people in the U.S. had some level of disability, one of ten, severe. Too often, people with disabilities have been treated as second class citizens, shunned and segregated by physical barriers and social stereotypes. They have been discriminated against in employment, schools, and housing, robbed of their personal autonomy, and too often, hidden away and forgotten by the larger society. By and large, people with disabilities continue to be excluded from the American dream… America has a shameful history of cutting off people with disabilities from the rest of society by sequestering them inside their homes, or consigning them to isolated, often squalid institutions. In Hawaii, for example, thousands of people with Hansen's Disease (leprosy) were permanently quarantined to isolated islands, cut off from their families and their livelihood. This forced separation, which had no public health justification, continued well into the 1950's. In 1972, the nation was shocked by film footage showing the filthy and dehumanizing conditions endured by 5,400 mentally disabled children at New York's Willowbrook "School."
Historically, people with disabilities have had little success in vindicating their rights in court. In 1927, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld the forced sterilization of a woman whose mother and daughter were both mentally retarded. People with mental disabilities were, the Court said, a "menace" who "sap the strength of the state." Society would be wise to "prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind.... Three generations of imbeciles are enough." Finally, and thanks in part to the inspiration provided by the civil rights struggles of the 1960's, disability rights advocates began to press for full legal equality and access to mainstream society. Through lobbying and litigation, laws were passed and rights established; public education and advocacy were used to promote reason and inclusiveness rather than fear and pit. From Darwin to Hitler is a fine work about how Darwin's notion of morality virtually supplanted Christian morality in Germany between the 1870s and the 1930s. In The Descent of Man (1871), Darwin suggested that morality was the result of biological evolution and that it differed only in degree, not in kind, from the social instincts of animals. While admitting that man, due to his cognitive abilities, had evolved further than animals, Darwin insisted that his social instincts, too, had developed by natural selection in the struggle for existence. Richard Weikart shows that Darwin's materialist account of morality hugely influenced German intellectuals of that era, causing many of them to reject the sanctity of life. Friedrich Hellwald and Alexander Tille saw evolution as doing away with inherent human rights. Once Darwin made the "biological inequality" of humans a matter of science, some individuals began to be labeled as "less valuable" than others. Rudolph Penzig, an advocate of secularization, declared that "biological evolution undermines any religious foundations for morality." In other words, Darwinism was already besieging the walls of the City of God. The feminist Helene Stöcker, who synthesized Nietzsche and Darwin, urged the "overthrow" of Christian morality for the sake of a "Darwinian-inspired eugenics program."
Would you employ them as a baby-sitter to look after your own child? If we assume that abortion should not be a method of contraception then it is morally wrong to refuse these people a sterilization procedure. The fact they cannot provide informed consent is not a valid point. Neither can they give informed consent to any other procedure such as an appendectomy or the need for an antibiotic. If there is no law it cannot be an illegal act until such a law is passed. Those opposed to sterilization should take a retarded child into their home for a few weeks. They would soon change their mind. There is nothing more irrational than someone who is rationally irrational. I wrote a column about this issue years ago and 95 percent of readers agreed that sterilization of the mentally retarded made sense. Readers did not consider this matter a contentious issue. How can a child who cannot feed herself, place one block on another or cannot look after bodily functions care for another child? These children require total protection from themselves. There are known cases where a retarded child has delivered five other retarded children by age 21. The government to my knowledge has never placed a parent of a retarded child on a committee to study this matter. The opponents of sterilization live in a never-never land of theory and make-believe. The law against sterilization of the mentally retarded is an ass, a cruel legalistic ruling. Hopefully someone will deliver us from this plague of lawyers. The Supreme Court Justices should get rid of their maids and cleaning help and taking a mentally retarded child onto their home. When a retarded child becomes pregnant and on the delivery table she will not understand what put her there, why she is in such pain and who gave her this great privilege. The decision to disallow sterilization is simply another nail into the coffin of common sense. Of all persons with disabilities, those with a serious mental illness face the highest degree of stigmatization in the workplace, and the greatest barriers to employment. Many and varied employment obstacles face adults with psychiatric disabilities, such as gaps in work history, limited employment experience, lack of confidence, fear and anxiety, workplace discrimination and inflexibility, social stigma and the rigidity of existing income support/benefit programs.
The unemployment rate of persons with serious mental illness reflects these obstacles and has been commonly reported to range from 70-90%, depending on the severity of the disability. These statistics are particularly disturbing in light of the fact that productive work has been identified as a leading component in promoting positive mental health and in paving the way for a rich and fulfilling life in the community.
Access to meaningful, paid work is a basic human right for every citizen, and those who experience serious mental illness should have equal access to the fundamental elements of citizenship which include: housing, education, income and work. This means that each individual has the right to be employed in a mainstream job, rather than being labeled as a client in a training program or a sheltered workshop.
Thinking over the issue, in today’s society it is a mix between discrimination and bullying towards the mentally challenged. Discrimination being, those who look down upon or consider the mentally handicapped a lower person than themselves. Then bullying, being those I see laughing behind their backs, making fun of them, or excluding them. My brother goes to Merrill Middle School and is lucky to have a lot of friends. He gets the same chance to do what every other kid there does. He may do it a little slower, but he does it! Merrill has a great environment, but out in the world as I’m writing this paper, there are kids with disabilities not nearly as lucky as him. These kids don’t have the same chances Ian does to be a normal kid. Those people are for whom I’m writing this paper, those who need the prejudices to stop. Final Argument (posted April 20 -- Peer Response April 23)
The rights of the mentally handicapped are an increasingly growing problem in our society. Many believe the mentally challenged deserve the same rights and the normal life we are entitled to. Then there are some that don’t. Many also perceive the mentally handicapped as a person who can’t take care of themselves alone. Those who see a mentally challenged individual as a person that holds society back rather than a normal citizen. I personally believe that the mentally handicapped are entitled to the same rights everyone else is entitled to. I have a brother with Down syndrome and I know firsthand what it’s like to live with a mentally handicapped individual. It kills me to see someone being denied of their rights, especially when it is a person with a mental disability. To some it means nothing, but it is a classic example of discrimination, this time against the mentally handicapped.
Yet first, what is discrimination in this case? Is it the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, on the grounds of race, age, or sex? Not at all, it is far more than that. Throughout history the mentally handicapped have been subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. The movement was the study of human genetics and of methods to improve the inherited physical and mental characteristics of the human race. Only recently have the disabled been able to live and interact within society normally. Mainly, as a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s, which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, with their families or in group homes. However, they are still looked down upon and often unwanted.
“People with disabilities are the poorest, least employed, and least educated minority in America. At the end of 1995, it was estimated that one out of five people in the U.S. had some level of disability, one of ten, severe. Too often, people with disabilities have been treated as second class citizens, shunned and segregated by physical barriers and social stereotypes. They have been discriminated against in employment, schools, and housing, robbed of their personal autonomy, and too often, hidden away and forgotten by the larger society. By and large, people with disabilities continue to be excluded from the American dream” (Human Right Education Associates).
Nobody’s perfect and if there is one thing my mother has taught me throughout my life, it is that my brother was a blessing. After twelve years of being with him, Ian is the best thing that has ever come into my life. It is important to not neglect the mental handicapped, but embrace them with open arms.
Some people consider the mentally handicapped a burden to society. Financially speaking, the mentally challenged consume a significant amount of educational, medical, and governmental resources. These individuals can take a great toll on their families. “About 90 percent of pregnant women who are given a Down syndrome diagnosis have chosen to have an abortion” (Amy Harmon, The New York Times). Parents want their children to be happy and successful. Many families choose this option because our society is geared toward normal people and success is often defined by wealth and status in society. Life is hard, and even more so for the mentally challenged. This may be so, but every life deserves dignity and respect. Success can be defined in many ways not just wealth and status. Our society is better because of the differences between people not just the similarities, and every person deserves the right to the pursuit of happiness.
The unemployment rate is staggering for the mentally handicapped. “Persons with serious mental illness have been commonly reported to range from 70-90%, depending on the severity of the disability (Canadian Mental Health Association). This number shows why it is so hard for the mentally handicapped to contribute to society and live on their own. Yet we, as a society, can correct this. We need to do a better job of finding suitable employment so the mentally retarded can contribute to society. There are actually many successful examples of employing the mentally handicapped. They are trainable and it is proven that they can be very loyal employees. In the long run employers need to get past the fact they are mentally challenged and focus more on their ability rather than their disability. “Access to meaningful, paid work is a basic human right for every citizen, and those who experience serious mental illness should have equal access to the fundamental elements of citizenship which include: housing, education, income and work. This means that each individual has the right to be employed in a mainstream job, rather than being labeled as a client in a training program or a sheltered workshop” (Canadian Mental Health Association).
The mentally handicapped have fought hard for their basic human rights, yet they are still discriminated against. Everyone deserves the right to the pursuit of happiness. Why deny them their rights now when they are finally being accepted into society. After twelve years of being with Ian, he has been the best thing that has ever come into my life. Families with a mentally disabled child were given a gift and should choose to embrace that gift, not shun it. These people typically cannot take care of themselves on their own and it is important to not neglect the mental handicapped because of this, but embrace them with open arms and help them when they need it. Reflection #3 (posted April 23)
What was the purpose of the writing? How successfully did you meet this purpose?
The purpose of my paper was to show my reader how the mentally handicapped are discriminated against in our society and the together we must put a stop to it. I thought I did a good job of getting my message across to the reader. From personal experience and a few articles I was able to pour out my life story and true events to the reader so they would grasp the purpose and meaning behind my paper.
Who was your intended audience? How did you adapt your writing to appeal to this audience?
My intended audience was mostly high schoolers, but really to anyone who would happen to read it and change their thinking on the mentally handicapped or would want to do something about this big problem. As a high schooler myself I was better able to connect to kids my age as I described events kids in school experience almost every day. However I did go into writing about the bigger picture like giving away kids with disabilities or them living homeless, which would appeal more to a older audience.
Explain the exigence that influenced the selection of your topic.
Well my exigence came from my brother, who has down syndrome, and it just really bugged me to see people with disabilities, discriminated against, made fun of, bullied, or excluded. I’d also heard several stories, which almost made me cry, about people with disabilities homeless or living in horrible conditions on their own. These two big reasons are why I choose to write about discrimination against the mentally challenged.
How does your writing draw attention to the key aspects of your message?
One way is by giving the definition of bullying and discrimination, which are my reasons for writing the paper. I also provide many various examples of discrimination against the mentally handicapped. I thought my organization of the paper also helped to present my information to the reader. This would ultimately get my message across to the reader.
In what ways did you create tone to reflect your persona?
At first my tone was very conversational because the subject I choose was very personal and I cared a lot about it, but this was good and bad. It was good because it was as if I myself was directly talking with the reader as they read. But it was bad because it wasn’t the type of tone to use in this type of essay. My final draft still had a few aspects of conversational tone, which helped, but mostly my tone throughout the paper was informal and direct.
Well let’s see here, it’s been a long time since I’ve had to introduce myself to someone. For starters I want you to know that I’m a hard worker, always have been. I do my very best at everything and I live by the quote, “you never know unless you try.” I’ve never had a “B,” on my report card in my entire life, and as my partner I’m positive you’ll love working with me.
Now let’s get to all the other stuff like my hobbies, accomplishments, interests, all that jazz. One thing you have to know about me is that unlike most people I love the winter, I love everything about it, the silence when you walk outside alone, the holidays and of course the snowboarding in Colorado. I like the summer and spring too of course but winters my favorite. Next is that I am a huge car guy, I love everything about car and I especially like working on cars. I also like all the other stuff everyone likes like hanging with friends and videogames all that stuff. As sports go I’m varsity in cross country and tennis, no big deal, and would be in swimming too but I took this year off to run over the winter. I play trumpet in Band, and Jazz One, but am still deciding whether to play in Marching Band next year.
Writing, until recently, has been the biggest pet peeve of mine. I had never been a good writer until I took Mrs. Moehlis’s English class sophomore year. Before her class I had my mother check and guide me through every piece of my writing, which wasn’t making me any better. I literally just could not write a decent essay. When I took Mrs. Moehlis class she worked one on one with me constantly throughout the year making me a better reader and writer which has turned me into the scholar I am today. Mrs. Moehlis and I are still friends and she was one of the teachers that recommended me for NHS, which I am currently leading a volunteer group in. Ok now for this semester, what I hope to accomplish as a writer is to be able to pull out a good essay in 40 min for the timed writing portion of the AP test at the end of the year. I hope this helped who ever will be my writing partner get to know more about what I like and my experience and journey as a writer.
Personal Reflection on Topic of Inquiry(posted January 27 -- Peer Response January 29)
What is the one event that has shaped me into the person I am today? Well that’s a hard one to think about, as many things have happened to me throughout my life that has inevitable defined me as who I am, that’s the way life works really. Yet the one event that popped into my head first when I heard the question was my brother, Ian.
I was four the day he was born, July 16th 1999, four days before my birthday. I remember the moment like if it was only yesterday, sitting with my grandpa in the waiting room and receiving the news that I was officially an older brother. Like any little four year old I was excited, really excited, I now had a brother and I was going to everything an older brother does, like teach him how to play sports, videogames, and ride bikes, all that jazz. Yet little did I know that within the next year or so my role as an older brother would change, and forever change my role in the family for the rest of my life.
When Ian was born he was diagnosed with Down syndrome, which meant somewhere along the lines an extra chromosome was added which gave him downs and luckily not a severe case. As a four year old I was too young and ignorant to notice Ian was a little different, and didn’t think twice about it for a couple years. Yet when Ian started growing up I did begin to notice something was up, it would take him longer to do simple things and he could compete when we were playing ball, stuff like that. I was getting worried so I asked my mother about it and that’s when I found he had downs and the basic causes and reactions of downs, and that I needed to step up my role as a brother. Over the next 10 years all the way up to right now sitting and writing this paper I would my keep stepping up my role in the family, helping him with everyday things, teaching him how to play sports and ride a bike, helping him with school and making sure he was always happy. In fact I’ve gotten so used to being with him when people ask me about Ian and if it’s sometimes hard to be his brother I just say, “No not really he’s just like any other younger brother as I am like any other older brother. It’s my job to be there for him. Ian is the keeps the family alive and running, he’s the life of the party and he’ll always have a spot in my heart reserved just for him, I love the little guy.” It’s pretty funny, over the years I’ve done quite a few community events for kids with disabilities like the buddy walk and Miracle League, but I just joined best buddies at Roosevelt and when my dad heard about it he asked me why I wanted to be in it, I said to be a best buddy, and he replied that I had already been a best buddy for 12 years, which I actually had.
I would say Ian has taught me quite a bit. For starters he taught me family responsibility, patience, and defiantly maturity, but above all he taught me that kids with disabilities need help to get through life, even in the mildest cases, and it’s our job to be there for them when they need us most. I hear about people with disabilities being mistreated, made fun of, such as the use of “retarded,” and sometimes even living in horrible conditions, but what makes me the most angered is that fact that families will get abortions based solely on the fact that their child has a disability. If it’s one thing my mother has taught throughout my life it’s that Ian was a blessing not a curse, and you know what, after 12 year of being with him, Ian has to be the best thing that’s ever come into my life, what a blessing he truly is. My question is why are people with disabilities mistreated and cast down upon by so many people and so many countries, why?
Rough Draft Definition (posted February 3 -- Peer Response February 5)
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot lately about people with mental disabilities, and lately I’ve been seeing a lot more of them out and about doing everyday things and working out. Yet when I see these people a also see something else, people around them laughing quietly, making jokes, or starring at them, all trying to not let the person notice, but I noticed and it pains me to see things like this happen. What pains me even more is that I see it happen more often than is morally acceptable.
Now I have a brother with down syndrome and I know firsthand what it’s like to live with a mentally handicapped individual and it kills me to see someone being laughed at or made fun of especially when it’s a person has a mental disability. It’s a classic example of discrimination, only this time against the mentally handicapped.
Yet first, what is discrimination in this case, is it just the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, esp. on the grounds of race, age, or sex. Well I don’t think it is, it’s more than discrimination. For thousands of years the mentally handicapped have been excluded from society, looked down upon by the church being considered as a living sin in the dark ages, and in most cases killed or left to fend for themselves. Only recently in the history of mankind have then been able to live and interact with society.
Still in some cases today they are looked down upon and unwanted, some cases being a family giving up a baby with a mental disability or any disability for that matter because they either don’t want to deal with it or they want a perfect son or daughter. Well you know what nobody’s perfect and if it’s one thing my mother has taught me throughout my life it’s that my brother was a blessing not a curse, and you know what, after twelve years of being with him, Ian has to be the best thing that’s ever come into my life, what a blessing he truly is. God gave those families a gift and they should choose to embrace it not shun it. Other cases that I hear about, rarely, but pains me the most is when I learn of a group or single person with a disability ending up homeless or living in horrible conditions because no one wanted to take care of them and they were left to fend for themselves. Usually these people cannot take care of themselves on their own; they need someone by their side to help them when they need it. It’s important we do not neglect the mental handicap but embrace them with open arms.
What I see more often than discrimination is what I see at everywhere I go, school, TV, even my friends. What I see is bullying. Not bullying as in aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including derogatory comments and bad names such as the use of “retarded,” and bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” in a sentence such as, “man, that’s retarded,” may not seem like bullying but it is a derogatory word that demeans the mentally handicapped. Or when I see a child with a disability picked last or totally excluded from the game because he can’t play as well as the other kids. They deserve to do what we do, maybe they can throw the ball as well or make a basket, but it would make their day to be able to play a game with their friends.
Thinking over the issue, I’ve decided that today it’s a mix between discrimination and bullying. Discrimination being, those who look down upon or consider the mentally handicapped a lower person then themselves. Then bullying being those I see laughing at them behind their backs thinking no one was watching, or excluding them. Now my brother goes to Merrill Middle School and is lucky enough to have a lot of friends. He gets the same chance to do what he wants just like every other kid there. Merrill is a great school environment, but out there as I’m writing there are kids with disabilities not nearly as lucky as him being bullied and discriminated against, who don’t have the same chances Ian does to be a normal kid. Those people are whom I’m writing this paper for, who need the madness to stop the most, those are the people we should embrace with open arms, those are the people who need our help.
Peer Response: I really like the structure of your essay. Your use of vocabulary is used really well and is easy to understand. You using your brother as an example in the essay makes it much more real and easier to relate with you and your story. The examples you use are really realistic and widens the view of the essay. I truthfully think you do not need to change much, maybe you could incorporate how your brother feels and his experiences of having down syndrome ? Just a thought but I think you have done a pretty good job !- Dejah Banks
Revision Definition (posted February 10 -- Peer Response February 12 )
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about those with mental disabilities, since I see a lot more of them out and about doing everyday activities. Unfortunately I also see something else, people around them laughing quietly, making jokes, and starring at them. All while trying not to let others notice. It pains me to see things like this happen, and what makes made it even worse is that I see it happen more often than is morally acceptable.
I have a brother with Down syndrome and I know firsthand what it’s like to live with a mentally handicapped individual. It kills me to see someone being laughed at or made fun of, especially when it is a person with a mental disability. To some it means nothing, but it is a classic example of discrimination, this time against the mentally handicapped.
Yet first, what is discrimination in this case? Is it the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, on the grounds of race, age, or sex? Not at all, it is far more than that. Throughout history the mentally handicapped have been subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. The movement was the study of human genetics and of methods to improve the inherited characteristics, physical and mental, of the human race. Only recently have the disabled been able to live and interact within society. Mainly as a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most now live independently, with their families, or in group homes. Yet they are still looked down upon and unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter are given up because they either don’t want to deal with it or they want a perfect son or daughter. Nobody’s perfect and if it is one thing my mother has taught me throughout my life it’s that my brother was a blessing. After twelve years of being with him, Ian has to be the best thing that’s ever come into my life. Those families were given a gift and should choose to embrace that gift not shun it. Other cases that I hear about, rarely, but pains me the most is when I learn of a group or single person with a disability ending up homeless or living in horrible conditions because no one wanted to take care of them and they were abandoned. Usually these people cannot take care of themselves on their own; they need someone by their side to help them when they need it. It is important to not neglect the mental handicap but embrace them with open arms.
There is another type of prejudice literally everywhere: school, TV, even friends. This type is bullying, not as in aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including derogatory comments and bad names such as the use of “retarded,” and bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” may not seem like bullying but it is a derogatory term that demeans the mentally handicapped. One more thing I see is when a child with a disability picked last or totally excluded from an activity or just ignored. They deserve the same life we are entitled to, maybe they can’t throw the ball as well another or make a basket, but it would make their day to be able to play with others. Say you don’t know them, that doesn’t entitle you to ignore that person; it is not much to ask to least acknowledge their existence.
Thinking over the issue, in today’s society it is a mix between discrimination and bullying towards the mentally challenged. Discrimination being, those who look down upon or consider the mentally handicapped a lower person then themselves. Then bullying being those I see laughing at them behind their backs thinking no one was watching, or excluding them. My brother goes to Merrill Middle School and is lucky enough to have a lot of friends. He gets the same chance to do what every other kid there does. Merrill has a great environment, but out in the world as I’m writing this paper there are kids with disabilities not nearly as lucky as him being bullied and discriminated against, who don’t have the same chances Ian does to be a normal kid. Those people are for whom I’m writing this paper, who need the prejudice to stop the most, those are the people who should be embraced with open arms, those are the people who need our help.
Sites Used
Final Definition (posted February 17 -- Peer Response February 19 )
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about those with mental disabilities, since I see a lot more of them out and about doing everyday activities. Unfortunately I also see something else, people around them laughing quietly, making jokes, and starring at them. All while trying not to let others notice. It pains me to see things like this happen, and what makes it worse, I see it happen more often than is morally acceptable.
I have a brother with Down syndrome and I know firsthand what it’s like to live with a mentally handicapped individual. It kills me to see someone being laughed at or made fun of, especially when it is a person with a mental disability. To some it means nothing, but it is a classic example of discrimination, this time against the mentally handicapped.
Yet first, what is discrimination in this case? Is it the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, on the grounds of race, age, or sex? Not at all, it is far more than that. Throughout history the mentally handicapped have been subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. The movement was the study of human genetics and of methods to improve the inherited physical and mental characteristics of the human race. Only recently have the disabled been able to live and interact within society normally. Mainly, as a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, with their families or in group homes. However, they are still looked down upon and often unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter are given up because parents either don’t want to deal with the challenges or they want a perfect son or daughter. Nobody’s perfect and if there is one thing my mother has taught me throughout my life, it is that my brother was a blessing. After twelve years of being with him, Ian is the best thing that has ever come into my life. Those families were given a gift and should choose to embrace that gift not shun it. Other cases that I hear about, rarely, are when I learn of a group or a single person with a disability ending up homeless or living in horrible conditions because no one wanted to take care of them. These people typically cannot take care of themselves on their own; they need someone by their side to help them when they need it. It is important to not neglect the mental handicapped, but embrace them with open arms.
Bullying is another type of prejudice found everywhere: school, TV, even friends. This is not always aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including, derogatory comments and bad names, such as the use of “retarded,” and bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” may not seem like bullying, but it is a derogatory term that demeans the mentally handicapped. One more thing I see is when a child with a disability is picked last or totally excluded from an activity or just simply ignored. Children with disabilities deserve the same life everyone else is entitled to and should not be outcast by other children. Society should treat everyone with respect, especially the least among them.
Thinking over the issue, in today’s society it is a mix between discrimination and bullying towards the mentally challenged. Discrimination being, those who look down upon or consider the mentally handicapped a lower person than themselves. Then bullying, being those I see laughing behind their backs thinking no one was watching, or simply excluding them. My brother goes to Merrill Middle School and is lucky to have a lot of friends. He gets the same chance to do what every other kid there does. He may do it a little slower, but he does it! Merrill has a great environment, but out in the world as I’m writing this paper, there are kids with disabilities not nearly as lucky as him. These kids don’t have the same chances Ian does to be a normal kid. Those people are for whom I’m writing this paper, those who need the prejudices to stop.
Reflection #1 (posted February 20 -- Peer Response February 22)
What was the purpose of the writing? How successfully did you meet this purpose?
The purpose of my paper was to show my reader how the mentally handicapped are discriminated against in our society and the together we must put a stop to it. I thought I did a good job of getting my message across to the reader. From personal experience and a few articles I was able to pour out my life story and true events to the reader so they would grasp the purpose and meaning behind my paper.
Who was your intended audience? How did you adapt your writing to appeal to this audience?
My intended audience was mostly high schoolers, but really to anyone who would happen to read it and change their thinking on the mentally handicapped or would want to do something about this big problem. As a high schooler myself I was better able to connect to kids my age as I described events kids in school experience almost every day. However I did go into writing about the bigger picture like giving away kids with disabilities or them living homeless, which would appeal more to a older audience.
Explain the exigence that influenced the selection of your topic.
Well my exigence came from my brother, who has down syndrome, and it just really bugged me to see people with disabilities, discriminated against, made fun of, bullied, or excluded. I’d also heard several stories, which almost made me cry, about people with disabilities homeless or living in horrible conditions on their own. These two big reasons are why I choose to write about discrimination against the mentally challenged.
How does your writing draw attention to the key aspects of your message?
One way is by giving the definition of bullying and discrimination, which are my reasons for writing the paper. I also provide many various examples of discrimination against the mentally handicapped. I thought my organization of the paper also helped to present my information to the reader. This would ultimately get my message across to the reader.
In what ways did you create tone to reflect your persona?
At first my tone was very conversational because the subject I choose was very personal and I cared a lot about it, but this was good and bad. It was good because it was as if I myself was directly talking with the reader as they read. But it was bad because it wasn’t the type of tone to use in this type of essay. My final draft still had a few aspects of conversational tone, which helped, but mostly my tone throughout the paper was informal and direct.
Rough Draft Comparison (postedFebruary 24 -- Peer Response February 26 )
There are many different types of discrimination in today’s society, the two that concern me the most is the inequality of the mentally challenged and gays. With a brother with a mental disability and many family friends who are gay, I wish for both to be accepted in society normally without intolerance towards them. Yet while the two share many of the key characteristics of discrimination and are both big problems in society, they are, in some ways, very different from each other.
For some, the hardship of discrimination is witnessed at birth. The mentally handicapped serve as a prime example of this. They are often looked down upon and unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter are given up because parents either don’t want to deal with the challenges or they want a perfect son or daughter. In some cases they are even given up before birth. On the other hand gays are not born gay, though some may disagree. Gay people do not experience the hardship of discrimination until they are older and more open about their personality.
Throughout history both the gays and the mentally handicapped have been subjugated to unjust and prejudicial treatment by society. Unfortunately the mentally handicapped could not hide their disability from the world while gays could. The disabled would be subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. Many gays choose to hide their true feelings from the rest of the world, fearing if they spook out they would be shunned and out casted. Many of these gays would live their entire life the way society saw fit, not their way. I would not know what’s worse, living the way someone else saw fit, or being imprisoned in an institution.
Only recently have the mentally handicapped have both gays and the disabled been able to live and interact in society normally. As a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, with their families or in group homes. As for gays, it has only been in the past several years that society has begun to accept gays, though it seems as if the country is torn between the idea of gay marriage. Some states have made same sex marriage legal, but with much controversy it’s hard to say when the rest will follow. The mentally handicapped have been accepted by society, while the gays continue to fight for equality, and they both still face many hardships
Adding to discrimination both gays and the mentally constantly bullied, which adds to the idea of the least among society being out casted, but not just by adults but by kids. Bullying is a type of prejudice found everywhere: school, TV, even friends. It is not always aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including, derogatory comments and bad names, such as the use of “retarded,” towards the disabled, or “faggot,” towards gays, and also bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” or “faggot,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” may not seem like bullying, but it is a derogatory term that demeans the mentally handicapped and gays. Another thing I see in school is when a child with a disability is picked last or totally excluded from an activity or just simply ignored. I know that many gays are afraid to come out of the closet with their feelings fearing social outcast or bullying. Children with disabilities and gays deserve the same life everyone else is entitled to and should not be outcast by other children. Society should treat everyone with respect, especially the least among them.
Two types of discrimination, two types of people both unwanted and looked down upon by society, two very similar but very different people with one thing in common. They both fight for equality and the acceptance into society and a normal life. The mentally handicapped have reached this goal and the gays are fighting for it still today, but there will always be that group of people who laugh, hurt, and destroy the person who is lower than them, that group of people who think they’re better than everyone else.
Revision Comparison (posted March 2 -- Peer Response March 4)
There are many different types of discrimination in today’s society, the two that concern me the most is the inequality of the mentally challenged and gays. With a brother with a mental disability and many family friends who are gay, I wish for both to be accepted in society normally without intolerance towards them. Yet while the two share many of the key characteristics of discrimination and are both big problems in society, they are, in some ways, very different from each other.
For some, the hardship of discrimination is witnessed at birth. The mentally handicapped serve as a prime example of this. They are often looked down upon and unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter are given up because parents either don’t want to deal with the challenges or they want a perfect son or daughter. In some cases they are even given up before birth. On the other hand gays are not born gay, though some may disagree. Gay people do not experience the hardship of discrimination until they are older and more open about their personality.
Throughout history both the gays and the mentally handicapped have been subjugated to unjust and prejudicial treatment by society. Unfortunately the mentally handicapped could not hide their disability from the world while gays could. The disabled would be subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. Many gays choose to hide their true feelings from the rest of the world, fearing if they spook out they would be shunned and out casted. Many of these gays would live their entire life the way society saw fit, not their way. I would not know what’s worse, living the way someone else saw fit, or being imprisoned in an institution.
Only recently have the mentally handicapped have both gays and the disabled been able to live and interact in society normally. As a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, with their families or in group homes. As for gays, it has only been in the past several years that society has begun to accept gays, though it seems as if the country is torn between the idea of gay marriage. Some states have made same sex marriage legal, but with much controversy it’s hard to say when the rest will follow. The mentally handicapped have been accepted by society, while the gays continue to fight for equality, and they both still face many hardships
Adding to discrimination both gays and the mentally constantly bullied, which adds to the idea of the least among society being out casted, but not just by adults but by kids. Bullying is a type of prejudice found everywhere: school, TV, even friends. It is not always aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including, derogatory comments and bad names, such as the use of “retarded,” towards the disabled, or “faggot,” towards gays, and also bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” or “faggot,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” may not seem like bullying, but it is a derogatory term that demeans the mentally handicapped and gays. Another thing I see in school is when a child with a disability is picked last or totally excluded from an activity or just simply ignored. I know that many gays are afraid to come out of the closet with their feelings fearing social outcast or bullying. Children with disabilities and gays deserve the same life everyone else is entitled to and should not be outcast by other children. Society should treat everyone with respect, especially the least among them.
Two types of discrimination, two types of people both unwanted and looked down upon by society, two very similar but very different people with one thing in common. They both fight for equality and the acceptance into society and a normal life. The mentally handicapped have reached this goal and the gays are fighting for it still today, but there will always be that group of people who laugh, hurt, and destroy the person who is lower than them, that group of people who think they’re better than everyone else.
Final Comparison (posted March 9 -- Peer Response March 11)
There are many different types of discrimination in today’s society, but the two that concern me the most are the inequality of the mentally challenged and the gays. With a mentally disabled brother and family friends who are gay, I want the horrible intolerance to cease. Yet while the two share many of the key characteristics of discrimination and are both big problems in society, they are, in some ways, very different. Each having their own methods of stopping the intolerance.
For some, the hardship of discrimination is witnessed at birth. The mentally handicapped serve as a prime example of this. They are often looked down upon and unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter are given up because parents either don’t want to deal with the challenges or they want a perfect son or daughter. In some cases they are even given up before birth. On the other hand gays are not born gay, though some may disagree saying that the baby is gay from birth, rather than growing into it. Most gays do not experience the hardship of discrimination until they are older and more open about themselves.
Throughout history both the gays and the mentally handicapped have been subjugated to unjust and prejudicial treatment by society. Unfortunately the mentally handicapped could not hide their disability from the world while gays could. The disabled would be subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. Many gays choose to hide their true feelings from the rest of the world, fearing if they spook out they would be shunned and out casted. Many of these gays would live their entire life the way society saw fit, not their way. What’s worse, living the way someone else saw fit, or being imprisoned in an institution?
Only recently have the mentally handicapped been able to live and interact in society normally. As a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, with their families or in group homes. As for gays it has only been in the past several years that society has begun to accept gays and it seems the country is torn between the idea of gay marriage. Some states have made same sex marriage legal, but with much controversy it is hard to say when the rest will follow. The mentally handicapped have been accepted by society, while the gays continue to fight for equality, and they both still face many hardships.
Both gays and the mentally handicapped are constantly bullied, which adds to the idea of discrimination. Bullying is a type of prejudice found everywhere: school, TV, even friends. It is not always aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including, derogatory comments and bad names, such as the use of “retarded,” towards the disabled, or “faggot,” towards gays, and also bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” or “faggot,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” or “That guy is a fag,” may not seem like bullying, but it is a derogatory term that demeans the mentally handicapped and gays. Even using the word “gay,” in a sentence such as, “That’s gay,” is a derogatory term towards gays. Another thing I see in school is when a child with a disability is picked last or totally excluded from an activity or just simply ignored. I know that many gays are afraid to come out of the closet with their feelings fearing social outcast or bullying. Children with disabilities and gays deserve the same life everyone else is entitled to and should not be outcast by other children. Society should treat everyone with respect, especially the least among them.
Two types of discrimination, two types of people both unwanted and looked down upon by society, two very similar but very different people with one thing in common. They both fight for equality and the acceptance into society and a normal life. The mentally handicapped have reached this goal and the gays are fighting for it still today, but there will always be that group of people who laugh, hurt, and destroy the person who is lower than them, that group of people who think they’re better than everyone else.
Reflection #2 (posted March 16 -- Peer Response March 25)
What was the purpose of the writing? How successfully did you meet this purpose?
The purpose of my paper was to show my reader how the mentally handicapped and gays are discriminated against in our society and the together we must put a stop to it. I thought I did a good job of getting my message across to the reader. From personal experience and a few articles I was able to pour out my life story and true events to the reader so they would grasp the purpose and meaning behind my paper.
Who was your intended audience? How did you adapt your writing to appeal to this audience?
My intended audience was mostly high schoolers, but really to anyone who would happen to read it and change their thinking on the mentally handicapped or would want to do something about this big problem. As a high schooler myself I was better able to connect to kids my age as I described events kids in school experience almost every day. However I did go into writing about the bigger picture like giving away kids with disabilities or them living homeless, which would appeal more to a older audience.
Explain the exigence that influenced the selection of your topic.
Well my exigence came from my brother, who has down syndrome and gay family friends, and it just really bugged me to see people with disabilities, discriminated against, made fun of, bullied, or excluded. I’d also heard several stories, which almost made me cry, about people with disabilities homeless or living in horrible conditions on their own. These two big reasons are why I choose to write about discrimination against the mentally challenged.
How does your writing draw attention to the key aspects of your message?
One way is by giving the definition of bullying and discrimination, which are my reasons for writing the paper. I also provide many various examples of discrimination against the mentally handicapped and gays. I thought my organization of the paper also helped to present my information to the reader. This would ultimately get my message across to the reader.
In what ways did you create tone to reflect your persona?
At first my tone was very conversational because the subject I choose was very personal and I cared a lot about it, but this was good and bad. It was good because it was as if I myself was directly talking with the reader as they read. But it was bad because it wasn’t the type of tone to use in this type of essay. My final draft still had a few aspects of conversational tone, which helped, but mostly my tone throughout the paper was informal and direct.
Final Extra Credit Paper (Defenition):
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about those with mental disabilities, since I see a lot more of them out and about doing everyday activities. Unfortunately I also see something else, people around them laughing quietly, making jokes, and starring at them. All while trying not to let others notice. It pains me to see things like this happen, and what makes it worse, I see it happen more often than is morally acceptable.
I have a brother with Down syndrome and I know firsthand what it’s like to live with a mentally handicapped individual. It kills me to see someone being laughed at or made fun of, especially when it is a person with a mental disability. To some it means nothing, but it is a classic example of discrimination, this time against the mentally handicapped.
Yet first, what is discrimination in this case? Is it the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, on the grounds of race, age, or sex? Not at all, it is far more than that. Throughout history the mentally handicapped have been subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. The movement was the study of human genetics and of methods to improve the inherited physical and mental characteristics of the human race. Only recently have the disabled been able to live and interact within society normally. Mainly, as a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s, which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, with their families or in group homes. However, they are still looked down upon and often unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter are given up because parents either don’t want to deal with the challenges or they want a perfect son or daughter. Nobody’s perfect and if there is one thing my mother has taught me throughout my life, it is that my brother was a blessing. After twelve years of being with him, Ian is the best thing that has ever come into my life. Those families were given a gift and should choose to embrace that gift, not shun it. Other cases that I hear about, rarely, are when I learn of a group or a single person with a disability ending up homeless or living in horrible conditions because no one wanted to take care of them. These people typically cannot take care of themselves on their own; they need someone by their side to help them when they need it. It is important to not neglect the mental handicapped, but embrace them with open arms.
Bullying is another type of prejudice found everywhere: school, TV, even friends. This is not always aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including, derogatory comments and bad names, such as the use of “retarded,” and bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” may not seem like bullying, but it is a derogatory term that demeans the mentally handicapped. One more thing I see is when a child with a disability is picked last or totally excluded from an activity and just simply ignored. Children with disabilities deserve the same life everyone else is entitled to and should not be outcast by other children. Society should treat everyone with respect, especially the least among them.
Thinking over the issue, in today’s society it is a mix between discrimination and bullying towards the mentally challenged. Discrimination being, those who look down upon or consider the mentally handicapped a lower person than themselves. Then bullying, being those I see laughing behind their backs, making fun of them, or excluding them. My brother goes to Merrill Middle School and is lucky to have a lot of friends. He gets the same chance to do what every other kid there does. He may do it a little slower, but he does it! Merrill has a great environment, but out in the world as I’m writing this paper, there are kids with disabilities not nearly as lucky as him. These kids don’t have the same chances Ian does to be a normal kid. Those people are for whom I’m writing this paper, those who need the prejudices to stop.
Final Extra Credit Paper (Comparison):
There are many different types of discrimination in today’s society, but the two that concern me the most are the inequality of the mentally challenged and the gays. With a mentally disabled brother and family friends who are gay, I want the horrible intolerance to cease. Yet while the two share many of the key characteristics of discrimination and are both big problems in society, they are very different; each having their own methods of dealing with and stopping the intolerance.
For some, the hardship of discrimination is witnessed at birth. The mentally handicapped serve as a prime example of this. They are often looked down upon and unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter, are given up because parents either don’t want to deal with the challenges or they want a perfect son or daughter. In some cases they are even given up before birth, where the family decides to have an abortion. On the other hand, gays are not born gay, though some disagree. While not proven, some believe that a gay person is oriented this way from birth, rather than growing into it. Most gays do not experience the hardship of discrimination until they are older and more open about themselves.
Throughout history both the gays and the mentally handicapped have been subjected to unjust and prejudicial treatment by society. Unfortunately the mentally handicapped could not hide their disability from the world, while gays could. The disabled would be subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. For gays, many choose to hide their true feelings from the rest of the world, fearing if they spoke out they would be shunned. Many of these gays would live their entire life the way society saw fit, not their way. What would be worse, living the way someone else saw fit, or being imprisoned in an institution?
Only recently have the mentally handicapped and gays been able to live and interact in society naturally. As a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s, which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people, the disabled were able to connect with society and live normal lives. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, either with their families or in group homes. As for gays, it has only been in the past several years that society has begun to accept gays and it seems as though the country is torn between the concept of gay marriage. Some states have made same sex marriage legal, but with much controversy it is hard to say when the rest will follow. The mentally handicapped have been accepted by society, while the gays continue to fight for equality, and both still face many hardships.
Gays and the mentally handicapped are often bullied, which adds to the idea of discrimination. Bullying is a type of prejudice found everywhere: school, TV, even among friends. It is not always aggressive behavior toward another. It can be bullying through social exclusion and isolation, or verbal bullying including, derogatory comments and bad names, such as the use of “retarded,” towards the disabled, or “faggot,” towards gays. Using the word “retarded,” or “faggot,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” or “That guy is a fag,” may not seem like bullying, but it is a derogatory term that demeans the person. Even using the word “gay,” in a sentence such as, “That’s gay,” is derogatory. Another thing I see in school is when a child with a disability is picked last or totally excluded from an activity and just simply ignored. I also know that many gays are afraid to come out of the closet with their feelings fearing social outcast or bullying. Children with disabilities and gays deserve the same life everyone else is entitled to and should not be outcast by other children. Society should treat everyone with respect, especially the least among them.
Two types of discrimination, two types of people, both unwanted and looked down upon by society. Two very similar but very different people with one thing in common, they both deserve equality and the acceptance into society. Yet there will always be that group of people who laugh, hurt, and destroy the person who they think is lower than them. The group of people who think they are better than everyone else. The source of the discrimination, the bullying, the intolerance, and the source must be stopped.
Rough Draft Argument (posted April 6 -- Peer Response April 8)
The rights of the mentally handicapped are an increasingly growing problem in our society. Many believe the mentally challenged deserve the same rights and the normal life we are entitled to. Then there are some that don’t. Many also perceive the mentally handicapped as a person who can’t take care of themselves alone. Those who see a mentally challenged individual as a person that holds society back rather than a normal citizen. Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about those with mental disabilities, since I see a lot more of them out and about doing everyday activities. Unfortunately I also see something else, people around them laughing quietly, making jokes, and starring at them. All while trying not to let others notice. It pains me to see things like this happen, and what makes it worse, I see it happen more often than is morally acceptable.
I have a brother with Down syndrome and I know firsthand what it’s like to live with a mentally handicapped individual. It kills me to see someone being laughed at or made fun of, especially when it is a person with a mental disability. To some it means nothing, but it is a classic example of discrimination, this time against the mentally handicapped.
Yet first, what is discrimination in this case? Is it the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, on the grounds of race, age, or sex? Not at all, it is far more than that. Throughout history the mentally handicapped have been subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and of methods to improve the inherited physical and mental characteristics of the human race. Only recently have the disabled been able to live and interact within society normally. Mainly, as a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s, which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, with their families or in group homes. However, they are still looked down upon and often unwanted. Babies born with a mental disability or any disability for that matter are given up because parents either don’t want to deal with the challenges or they want a perfect son or daughter. Nobody’s perfect and if there is one thing my mother has taught me throughout my life, it is that my brother was a blessing. After twelve years of being with him, Ian is the best thing that has ever come into my life. Those families were given a gift and should choose to embrace that gift, not shun it. Other cases that I hear about, rarely, are when I learn of a group or a single person with a disability ending up homeless or living in horrible conditions because no one wanted to take care of them. These people typically cannot take care of themselves on their own; they need someone by their side to help them when they need it. It is important to not neglect the mental handicapped, but embrace them with open arms.
Bullying is another type of prejudice found everywhere: school, TV, even friends. This is not always aggressive behavior toward another, but verbal bullying including, derogatory comments and bad names, such as the use of “retarded,” and bullying through social exclusion or isolation. Using the word “retarded,” in a sentence such as, “Man, that’s retarded,” may not seem like bullying, but it is a derogatory term that demeans the mentally handicapped. One more thing I see is when a child with a disability is picked last or totally excluded from an activity and just simply ignored. Children with disabilities deserve the same life everyone else is entitled to and should not be outcast by other children. Society should treat everyone with respect, especially the least among them.
Thinking over the issue, in today’s society it is a mix between discrimination and bullying towards the mentally challenged. Discrimination being, those who look down upon or consider the mentally handicapped a lower person than themselves. Then bullying, being those I see laughing behind their backs, making fun of them, or excluding them. My brother goes to Merrill Middle School and is lucky to have a lot of friends. He gets the same chance to do what every other kid there does. He may do it a little slower, but he does it! Merrill has a great environment, but out in the world as I’m writing this paper, there are kids with disabilities not nearly as lucky as him. These kids don’t have the same chances Ian does to be a normal kid.
Revision Argument (posted April 13 -- Peer Response April 15)
The rights of the mentally handicapped are an increasingly growing problem in our society. Many believe the mentally challenged deserve the same rights and the normal life we are entitled to. Then there are some that don’t. Many also perceive the mentally handicapped as a person who can’t take care of themselves alone. Those who see a mentally challenged individual as a person that holds society back rather than a normal citizen.
People with disabilities are the poorest, least employed, and least educated minority in America. At the end of 1995, it was estimated that one out of five people in the U.S. had some level of disability, one of ten, severe. Too often, people with disabilities have been treated as second class citizens, shunned and segregated by physical barriers and social stereotypes. They have been discriminated against in employment, schools, and housing, robbed of their personal autonomy, and too often, hidden away and forgotten by the larger society. By and large, people with disabilities continue to be excluded from the American dream… America has a shameful history of cutting off people with disabilities from the rest of society by sequestering them inside their homes, or consigning them to isolated, often squalid institutions. In Hawaii, for example, thousands of people with Hansen's Disease (leprosy) were permanently quarantined to isolated islands, cut off from their families and their livelihood. This forced separation, which had no public health justification, continued well into the 1950's. In 1972, the nation was shocked by film footage showing the filthy and dehumanizing conditions endured by 5,400 mentally disabled children at New York's Willowbrook "School."
Historically, people with disabilities have had little success in vindicating their rights in court. In 1927, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld the forced sterilization of a woman whose mother and daughter were both mentally retarded. People with mental disabilities were, the Court said, a "menace" who "sap the strength of the state." Society would be wise to "prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind.... Three generations of imbeciles are enough." Finally, and thanks in part to the inspiration provided by the civil rights struggles of the 1960's, disability rights advocates began to press for full legal equality and access to mainstream society. Through lobbying and litigation, laws were passed and rights established; public education and advocacy were used to promote reason and inclusiveness rather than fear and pit. From Darwin to Hitler is a fine work about how Darwin's notion of morality virtually supplanted Christian morality in Germany between the 1870s and the 1930s. In The Descent of Man (1871), Darwin suggested that morality was the result of biological evolution and that it differed only in degree, not in kind, from the social instincts of animals. While admitting that man, due to his cognitive abilities, had evolved further than animals, Darwin insisted that his social instincts, too, had developed by natural selection in the struggle for existence. Richard Weikart shows that Darwin's materialist account of morality hugely influenced German intellectuals of that era, causing many of them to reject the sanctity of life. Friedrich Hellwald and Alexander Tille saw evolution as doing away with inherent human rights. Once Darwin made the "biological inequality" of humans a matter of science, some individuals began to be labeled as "less valuable" than others. Rudolph Penzig, an advocate of secularization, declared that "biological evolution undermines any religious foundations for morality." In other words, Darwinism was already besieging the walls of the City of God. The feminist Helene Stöcker, who synthesized Nietzsche and Darwin, urged the "overthrow" of Christian morality for the sake of a "Darwinian-inspired eugenics program."
Would you employ them as a baby-sitter to look after your own child? If we assume that abortion should not be a method of contraception then it is morally wrong to refuse these people a sterilization procedure. The fact they cannot provide informed consent is not a valid point. Neither can they give informed consent to any other procedure such as an appendectomy or the need for an antibiotic. If there is no law it cannot be an illegal act until such a law is passed. Those opposed to sterilization should take a retarded child into their home for a few weeks. They would soon change their mind. There is nothing more irrational than someone who is rationally irrational. I wrote a column about this issue years ago and 95 percent of readers agreed that sterilization of the mentally retarded made sense. Readers did not consider this matter a contentious issue. How can a child who cannot feed herself, place one block on another or cannot look after bodily functions care for another child? These children require total protection from themselves. There are known cases where a retarded child has delivered five other retarded children by age 21. The government to my knowledge has never placed a parent of a retarded child on a committee to study this matter. The opponents of sterilization live in a never-never land of theory and make-believe. The law against sterilization of the mentally retarded is an ass, a cruel legalistic ruling. Hopefully someone will deliver us from this plague of lawyers. The Supreme Court Justices should get rid of their maids and cleaning help and taking a mentally retarded child onto their home. When a retarded child becomes pregnant and on the delivery table she will not understand what put her there, why she is in such pain and who gave her this great privilege. The decision to disallow sterilization is simply another nail into the coffin of common sense. Of all persons with disabilities, those with a serious mental illness face the highest degree of stigmatization in the workplace, and the greatest barriers to employment. Many and varied employment obstacles face adults with psychiatric disabilities, such as gaps in work history, limited employment experience, lack of confidence, fear and anxiety, workplace discrimination and inflexibility, social stigma and the rigidity of existing income support/benefit programs.
The unemployment rate of persons with serious mental illness reflects these obstacles and has been commonly reported to range from 70-90%, depending on the severity of the disability. These statistics are particularly disturbing in light of the fact that productive work has been identified as a leading component in promoting positive mental health and in paving the way for a rich and fulfilling life in the community.
Access to meaningful, paid work is a basic human right for every citizen, and those who experience serious mental illness should have equal access to the fundamental elements of citizenship which include: housing, education, income and work. This means that each individual has the right to be employed in a mainstream job, rather than being labeled as a client in a training program or a sheltered workshop.
Thinking over the issue, in today’s society it is a mix between discrimination and bullying towards the mentally challenged. Discrimination being, those who look down upon or consider the mentally handicapped a lower person than themselves. Then bullying, being those I see laughing behind their backs, making fun of them, or excluding them. My brother goes to Merrill Middle School and is lucky to have a lot of friends. He gets the same chance to do what every other kid there does. He may do it a little slower, but he does it! Merrill has a great environment, but out in the world as I’m writing this paper, there are kids with disabilities not nearly as lucky as him. These kids don’t have the same chances Ian does to be a normal kid. Those people are for whom I’m writing this paper, those who need the prejudices to stop.
Final Argument (posted April 20 -- Peer Response April 23)
The rights of the mentally handicapped are an increasingly growing problem in our society. Many believe the mentally challenged deserve the same rights and the normal life we are entitled to. Then there are some that don’t. Many also perceive the mentally handicapped as a person who can’t take care of themselves alone. Those who see a mentally challenged individual as a person that holds society back rather than a normal citizen. I personally believe that the mentally handicapped are entitled to the same rights everyone else is entitled to. I have a brother with Down syndrome and I know firsthand what it’s like to live with a mentally handicapped individual. It kills me to see someone being denied of their rights, especially when it is a person with a mental disability. To some it means nothing, but it is a classic example of discrimination, this time against the mentally handicapped.
Yet first, what is discrimination in this case? Is it the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, on the grounds of race, age, or sex? Not at all, it is far more than that. Throughout history the mentally handicapped have been subjected to unnecessary institutionalization and, as a result of the eugenics movement, involuntary sterilization. The movement was the study of human genetics and of methods to improve the inherited physical and mental characteristics of the human race. Only recently have the disabled been able to live and interact within society normally. Mainly, as a result of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1970s, which reflected a concern for the civil rights of mentally retarded people. Now very few of the mentally challenged are institutionalized and most live independently, with their families or in group homes. However, they are still looked down upon and often unwanted.
“People with disabilities are the poorest, least employed, and least educated minority in America. At the end of 1995, it was estimated that one out of five people in the U.S. had some level of disability, one of ten, severe. Too often, people with disabilities have been treated as second class citizens, shunned and segregated by physical barriers and social stereotypes. They have been discriminated against in employment, schools, and housing, robbed of their personal autonomy, and too often, hidden away and forgotten by the larger society. By and large, people with disabilities continue to be excluded from the American dream” (Human Right Education Associates).
Nobody’s perfect and if there is one thing my mother has taught me throughout my life, it is that my brother was a blessing. After twelve years of being with him, Ian is the best thing that has ever come into my life. It is important to not neglect the mental handicapped, but embrace them with open arms.
Some people consider the mentally handicapped a burden to society. Financially speaking, the mentally challenged consume a significant amount of educational, medical, and governmental resources. These individuals can take a great toll on their families. “About 90 percent of pregnant women who are given a Down syndrome diagnosis have chosen to have an abortion” (Amy Harmon, The New York Times). Parents want their children to be happy and successful. Many families choose this option because our society is geared toward normal people and success is often defined by wealth and status in society. Life is hard, and even more so for the mentally challenged. This may be so, but every life deserves dignity and respect. Success can be defined in many ways not just wealth and status. Our society is better because of the differences between people not just the similarities, and every person deserves the right to the pursuit of happiness.
The unemployment rate is staggering for the mentally handicapped. “Persons with serious mental illness have been commonly reported to range from 70-90%, depending on the severity of the disability (Canadian Mental Health Association). This number shows why it is so hard for the mentally handicapped to contribute to society and live on their own. Yet we, as a society, can correct this. We need to do a better job of finding suitable employment so the mentally retarded can contribute to society. There are actually many successful examples of employing the mentally handicapped. They are trainable and it is proven that they can be very loyal employees. In the long run employers need to get past the fact they are mentally challenged and focus more on their ability rather than their disability. “Access to meaningful, paid work is a basic human right for every citizen, and those who experience serious mental illness should have equal access to the fundamental elements of citizenship which include: housing, education, income and work. This means that each individual has the right to be employed in a mainstream job, rather than being labeled as a client in a training program or a sheltered workshop” (Canadian Mental Health Association).
The mentally handicapped have fought hard for their basic human rights, yet they are still discriminated against. Everyone deserves the right to the pursuit of happiness. Why deny them their rights now when they are finally being accepted into society. After twelve years of being with Ian, he has been the best thing that has ever come into my life. Families with a mentally disabled child were given a gift and should choose to embrace that gift, not shun it. These people typically cannot take care of themselves on their own and it is important to not neglect the mental handicapped because of this, but embrace them with open arms and help them when they need it.
Reflection #3 (posted April 23)
What was the purpose of the writing? How successfully did you meet this purpose?
The purpose of my paper was to show my reader how the mentally handicapped are discriminated against in our society and the together we must put a stop to it. I thought I did a good job of getting my message across to the reader. From personal experience and a few articles I was able to pour out my life story and true events to the reader so they would grasp the purpose and meaning behind my paper.
Who was your intended audience? How did you adapt your writing to appeal to this audience?
My intended audience was mostly high schoolers, but really to anyone who would happen to read it and change their thinking on the mentally handicapped or would want to do something about this big problem. As a high schooler myself I was better able to connect to kids my age as I described events kids in school experience almost every day. However I did go into writing about the bigger picture like giving away kids with disabilities or them living homeless, which would appeal more to a older audience.
Explain the exigence that influenced the selection of your topic.
Well my exigence came from my brother, who has down syndrome, and it just really bugged me to see people with disabilities, discriminated against, made fun of, bullied, or excluded. I’d also heard several stories, which almost made me cry, about people with disabilities homeless or living in horrible conditions on their own. These two big reasons are why I choose to write about discrimination against the mentally challenged.
How does your writing draw attention to the key aspects of your message?
One way is by giving the definition of bullying and discrimination, which are my reasons for writing the paper. I also provide many various examples of discrimination against the mentally handicapped. I thought my organization of the paper also helped to present my information to the reader. This would ultimately get my message across to the reader.
In what ways did you create tone to reflect your persona?
At first my tone was very conversational because the subject I choose was very personal and I cared a lot about it, but this was good and bad. It was good because it was as if I myself was directly talking with the reader as they read. But it was bad because it wasn’t the type of tone to use in this type of essay. My final draft still had a few aspects of conversational tone, which helped, but mostly my tone throughout the paper was informal and direct.